State Rep. Chris Blazejewski: 13 To Watch in RI in 2013

With House Speaker Gordon Fox mired in the political battle of his life last fall, it would have been easy for any number of the up-and-comers in state politics to throw him under the bus in hopes of advancing his or her career.

And some did.

But State Representative Chris Blazejewski, a Harvard educated lawyer who represents Providence, has learned that loyalty can pay off.

Blazejewski, a progressive Democrat who ran for the District 2 seat after his close friend David Segal chose to run for Congress in 2010, stood by the Speaker and when he won re-election, he was promoted to Deputy Whip on Fox’s leadership team.

Now those close to Blazejewski say the sky is the limit for the 33-year-old.

Blazejewski almost always offers a witty, self deprecating response when pressed about his political future, but more than a handful of insiders believe he could someday run for Mayor of Providence (he says he’ll have to change his difficult-to-pronounce last name) and others believe he has the opportunity to continue to climb the ladder in the House of Representatives.

Either way, the future is bright for the humble and well-liked Rep. who is the only member of House leadership that actually has the ear of the progressive wing of the Democrat party and still has the respect of its more conservative members. In some ways, he’s established himself as a pragmatic progressive in the same vein as Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, the state’s most popular politicians.

In 2013, look for Blazejewski to continue to build his status as a power broker in the House and while he still laughs off a potential run for higher office, don’t be surprised if more and more voters start to learn his name in the coming years.